Case Summaries

Criminal Law & Procedure

[07/02] People v. Nguyen
Court of Appeals judgment is reversed where the absence of a constitutional or statutory right to jury trial under the juvenile law does not, under Apprendi, preclude the use of a prior juvenile adjudication of criminal misconduct to enhance the maximum sentence for a subsequent adult felony offense by the same person under California's Three Strikes law.

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Ethics & Professional Responsibility

[06/30] Stephens v. Branker
In a capital habeas matter, the denial of Petitioner's petition is affirmed where Petitioner's ineffective assistance claim failed, because he did not demonstrate that the conflict of interest allegedly affecting his counsel adversely affected counsel's trial performance.

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Family Law

[07/01] Jenkins v. Jenkins
In a petition under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction seeking the return of Petitioner's son to her custody in Israel, judgment for Respondent is affirmed where Petitioner failed to establish that there was an actual "removal or retention" by Respondent or that the alleged retention was "wrongful."

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Immigration Law

[07/02] Cendrawasih v. Holder
Petition for review of an order denying asylum is denied where plaintiff failed to establish that she had a well-founded fear future persecution, as the country conditions in Indonesia without more do not qualify a Christian Indonesian for asylum, and the individual difficulties plaintiff has faced are a series of isolated incidents no greater than those faced by other Indonesian Christians have been found insufficient to warrant asylum.

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Injury & Tort Law

[07/02] Hughes v. Pair
Court of Appeals judgment for defendant in a sexual harassment action is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff's factual allegations fail to establish the severe or pervasive conduct necessary to pursue a claim of hostile environment sexual harassment under Civil Code sec. 51.9, as the conduct was not so egregious as to alter the conditions of the underlying professional relationship and could not plausibly be construed by a reasonable trier of fact as a threat to commit a sexual assault on plaintiff; and 2) the court properly granted summary judgment on plaintiff's claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress as plaintiff failed to establish either extreme or outrageous conduct by defendant or that plaintiff suffered severe or extreme emotional distress.

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Workers' Comp

[06/11] Simpson v. Empire Truck Lines, Inc.
In an action arising out of a truck accident under the Texas Workers Compensation Act (TWCA), judgment for Defendant is affirmed where the driver of the truck was not Defendant's statutory employee under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, and thus Defendant was not vicariously liable under the TWCA.

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